Commentary © 2012 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. Preamble: We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Over the years I have spent plenty of time considering the Pledge and the Preamble. With the privilege of time I have worked on the purpose of my government and my country. They are not one in the same, I hope.
There is an old saying, “I don’t know who discovered water but it wasn’t a fish.” We Americans have lived so long and free that we do not think about the loss of our freedom, especially if it happens slowly. We are not confronted with the same catastrophic loss of liberty as motivated our founding leaders.
The Preamble prepared us to understand the rules for the government made in 1787. Over the years the rules have been changed legally and judicially to where our founding leaders would not recognize the purpose of our government. Constitutionally it was limited and deferred to the states. Now, the federal government is omnipotent and the states are limited.
As to the purpose of our country, many people thought and think it was to be a shining light of liberty leading other peoples to freedom and justice. When our country was founded it was the only country not run by a dictatorship in the world. Americans at that time relished their freedoms and over the next two hundred years other countries joined us in varying degrees of freedom. We provided the model of a free people.
We citizens have had a dialog about the purpose of our country and government for two hundred years. Some people in our country believe citizens should not be completely free; rather, they should have some freedoms while being bound to the needs of the country. Others have fought the notion that the government is more important than each individual citizen. It is a fight we fight every day. It asks each of us to define the purpose of our country. Are we each a country of one or are we one country made of many?
For most citizens the purpose of our country is too abstract. Many citizens are just trying to get to work each day and not go nuts having to deal with their children. Their short-term goal often is to make it to payday. What is the purpose of the country? We have 310 million answers. But several answers are repeated most often.
The answers vary from the Libertarian, “Each person for themselves,” to the Communist, “All people to serve the State.” Each election is a movement to less government or more government.
In my lifetime much of the emphasis of our country has focused upon socialist redistributive ideals including the graduated tax structure, socialize medicine and state run education. Do we qualify as a socialist state? Much of the socialist agenda is now mainstream in our country and is not even in contention. Individuals and limited government have lost election after election when what is auctioned is taking the property from one citizen and giving it to another for their vote.
In today’s world our country functions in ways individual citizens will resist if the government actions supporting socialism become too profound. Taking from one citizen to give to another is now the purpose of our country.
As more and more unproductive citizens get the bounty from fewer and fewer productive citizens there obviously will be a time when that will no longer power a nation. Our country will then have to retreat from socialism. How soon will it happen? I do not know. It is not if our nation will have to cast off socialism as not sustainable, it is only when.
Dr. Michael Swickard is co-host of radio talk show News New Mexico 6 to 9 a.m. Monday - Friday on a number of New Mexico radio stations and through streaming. Email: michael@swickard.com
